Scream
by xKittyKAT18x
Summary: Based off of Scream. There is a serial killer loose in Albuquerque. Many students and adults at East High are found brutally murdered. Nobody's safe. Everyone's a suspect. So who do you think is the killer?
1. Trailer

**Author's Note: I was looking through the horror/mystery section and found that there's not many stories in that section. I watched the movie _Scream_ last night and thought I might try to write my own version of it for the HSM section. This is just the trailer. I've never done a trailer before, so it's probably not that great, but please R&R anyway and let me know if I should continue or not.

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**Trailer**

"Why do you want to know my name?" she asked.

"I want to know who I'm looking at."

**It started with a scream over 911**

"Why are the police here?" Gabriella asked as she approached the school.

"You didn't hear?" Taylor asked. Gabriella shook her head. "Mindy Smith and Steve Collins were murdered last night."

**And turned into one of the worst killing sprees the town had ever seen**

"It looks as if we have a serial killer on our hands," a police officer remarked.

"This son of a bitch has already killed five people and yet we have absolutely no leads."

**There was nowhere to run**

_Scene shows a girl getting chased through her house._

**Nowhere to hide**

_Scene shows a girl almost being attacked in the school bathroom._

**Trust no one**

"Everybody's a suspect!"

**Starring**

**Taylor McKessie**

"I can't believe there is a serial killer here in Albuquerque."

**Jason Cross**

"They were totally hollowed out man. Their insides were on the outside."

**Zeke Baylor**

"They asked me if I did a lot of hunting."

**Ryan Evans**

"There are certain rules one must abide by in order to successfully survive a scary movie."

**Sharpay Evans**

"Help me please! Somebody please help!"

**Chad Danforth**

"I'll be right back!"

**Gabriella Montez**

"It's you!"

**and **

**Troy Bolton**

"It wasn't me I swear! Please, you have to believe me!"

**Scream**

**

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I purposely tried to leave out any personal pronouns that would suggest whether the killer was a boy or girl. That's because I want to know who you think should be the killer. I can't decide. So if you do review, please tell me who you think the killer should be, and also who you think should be killed and who should live. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thank you so much to those who reviewed. I really appreciate it. And you all had really good ideas too. Please review, it motivates me to write more and update sooner. Oh, and in this chapter, just because I used the pronoun 'they' does not mean that there are two people, I just didn't want to use 'he/she' in reference to the killer. **

**When reading this, imagine Mindy as that blonde cheerleader in the movie that always wears her hair up in a ponytail. She's the one that is trying to steal the ball away from Chad in the scene where Troy gets off the bus on the first day back from break. As for Steve, just imagine some guy you really don't like.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical

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It was a Tuesday night. Mindy Smith's parents had gone out to a dinner party and weren't due back home until late. Mindy was in the kitchen, getting ready to make popcorn, and waiting for her boyfriend Steve Collins to call and say that he was on his way over. Since her parents were out of the house, she and Steve planned to watch a scary movie together. When the phone finally rang, she was slightly disappointed that her boyfriend's number was the number that was on her caller id. Although she did not recognize the cell number, she answered the phone anyway.

"Hello?" Mindy asked.

"Hello, who am I speaking to?" a voice asked.

"Who are you trying to reach?"

"What number is this?" the voice responded.

"What number are you trying to reach?" Mindy questioned.

"I don't know..." the person said, pressing the voice box to their mouth for an added effect.

"Well, I think you have the wrong number." Mindy giggled.

"Do I?"

"It happens take it easy."

**Click.** Mindy hung up.

The phone rang again only a few seconds later. Mindy turned around, slightly annoyed, and answered the phone again, "Hello?"

"I'm sorry I guess I dialed the wrong number." the person said mischievously.

"So why did you dial it again?" Mindy laughed.

"To apologize..."

She rolled her eyes, "You're forgiven, bye now."

"Wait, don't hang up," the voice interrupted, "I wanna talk to you for a second."

"They've got 900 numbers for that, see ya."

**Click**

She set the phone down on the kitchen counter and walked over to the stove and lit the burner. The phone rang yet again. She groaned loudly as she walked to the phone and answered, "Hello?"

"Why don't you want to talk to me?" the person asked pensively.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"You tell me your name and I'll tell you mine."

"I don't think so." She grabbed the handle of her Jiffy pop popcorn and moved it gently around the flame. The kernels rattled about within the tin foil.

"What's that noise?" the person asked.

"Popcorn." Mindy answered.

"You're making popcorn?"

"Uh huh!" she said cheerfully.

"You know I only eat popcorn at the movies."

"Well I'm getting ready to watch a video," she explained.

"Really, what?"

"Oh just some scary movie."

"Do you like scary movies?"

"Uh huh." she answered.

"What's your favorite scary movie?"

Mindy shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know."

"You have to have a favorite, what comes to mind?"

"Um, Halloween, you know the one with the guy in the white mask that stalks baby sitters? What's yours?"

"Guess."

"Um, Nightmare on Elm Street." she responded as she moved from the kitchen into the living room.

"Is that the one where the guy had knives for fingers?"

"Yeah, Freddy Krueger!"

"Freddy, right, I liked that movie, it was scary."

"Yeah, the first one was but the rest sucked," she commented.

The person decided to get the show on the road and up the ante, "So, you got a boyfriend?"

"Why, you wanna ask me out on a date?" Mindy asked, very flirtatiously, captivated by the deep raspy voice.

"Maybe...do you have a boyfriend?"

"No." said Mindy, as she placed the videos up on the television set.

"You never told me your name."

"Why do you wanna know my name?"

"Because I want to know who I'm looking at." The person peeped into the window so as to frame her reaction. She was the atypical dumb blonde, horror film bimbo.

Her eyes got wide. "What did you say?"

Outside the neighbor's dog began barking. "I wanna know who I'm talking to."

"That's not what you said." She nervously scanned the living room.

"What do you think I said?"

Mindy flipped on the patio light and surveyed the property. She saw nothing, "Look, I gotta go."

"Wait, I thought we were gonna go out?"

"Nah, I don't think so," she said as she quickly locked the patio doors.

"Don't you hang up on me." the tone of voice was all the more menacing now.

**Click**

She started to the kitchen, but the phone rang again. She glared down at the phone. "Yes!" answered a very agitated Mindy.

"I told you not to hang up on me."

"What do you want?" she asked angrily.

"To talk."

"Well, dial someone else, okay!"

**Click**

Mindy then walked into the kitchen to find that it was starting to fill with smoke. She started to the stove. The person, however, was angry that she kept hanging up, so they pressed redial, again.

When the phone rang again, she was fed up. "Listen asshole . . .!" she screamed.

"No you listen you little bitch!" the person cut her off mid sentence, "You hang up on me again and I'm gonna gut you like a fish, understand!"

Mindy got quiet. She was going to give this person her undivided attention now, "Is this some kind of a joke?" she whispered.

"More of a game, really," the person paused before asking, "Can you handle that, blondie?"

Mindy bolted for the doors and locked all of them. The person was hanging low in the bushes when they heard the front door latch. They looked up to see Mindy peeping out of the window.

"Can you see me?" they taunted.

"Listen, I am two seconds away from calling the police." Mindy threatened.

"They'd never make it in time. We're out in the middle of nowhere." the killer interrupted.

"What do you want?" she pleaded.

"To see what your insides look like!" the killer cackled. The laugh was that of pure evil. She hung up the phone again and held her stomach. She was so scared it was making her sick.

The killer, enjoying watching her terror, reached up and rang the doorbell.

"Who's there?" she stuttered, "Who's there? I'm calling the police!"

She grabbed the phone, but it rang before she could turn it on herself. Mindy screamed bloody murder. She clicked on the receiver.

"You should never say who's there," the killer said before Mindy had a chance to answer, "Don't you ever watch scary movies? It's a death wish. You might as well come out here to investigate a strange noise or something!"

"Look, you've had your fun now so I think you'd better just leave or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else my boyfriend will be here any second, and he'll be pissed when he finds out."

The killer decided to toy with her and give her some inkling of hope, "I thought you didn't have a boyfriend?"

"I lied! I do have a boyfriend and he'll be here any second so your ass better be gone!"

"Sure."

"I swear, he's big and he plays football and he'll kick the shit out of you!" she shrieked.

"Oh, I'm getting scared. I'm shaking in my boots."

"So you better just leave," Mindy whimpered.

"His name wouldn't be Steve, would it?"

Mindy gasped, "How do you know his name?"

"Turn on the patio lights, again."

Steve had been positioned on the porch so that when Mindy turned the lights on again, Steve would be in full view. When the lights came on Mindy's reaction was everything the killer had hoped for.

Mindy screamed and screamed again, all rational thought gone. She started to unlock the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" the killer warned.

"Where are you, where are you!" Mindy screamed.

"Guess!"

"No! Please, don't hurt him!"

"That all depends on you!"

"Why are you doing this?"

"I wanna play a game."

"No!"

"Then he dies right now!"

"Nooooo! Please!" she cried.

"Which is it? Which is it?" the killer demanded.

"Well, what...kind...of a game?"

"Turn off the lights; you'll see what kind of game."

Mindy hesitated momentarily, her face drenched in tears.

"Just do it!"

She turned off the lights and cowered in the corner. Mindy listened as the killer outlined the rules of the game. The killer was confident that Mindy would lose. They doubted that Mindy would answer the trick question correctly. No one ever did. That was the beauty of the game.

The killer wanted to give her a false sense of security, that if she did answer the question right she would actually be allowed to live. So they asked who the killer was in Halloween. That was easy, Michael Myers. But now it was time for the trick question.

"Name the killer in Friday the 13th."

Before she could think the question through, Mindy leapt from the corner, "Jason! Jason! It was Jason!"

"I'm sorry that's the wrong answer!"

Mindy begged and pleaded with the killer, but it was to no avail. Jason wasn't the killer in Friday the 13th. It was his mother, Mrs. Voorhies.

"Lucky for you there's a bonus round, but poor Steve, I'm afraid, he's out."

In the darkness, the killer ran across the veranda and plunged the knife, deep, into Steve's groin. The football player screamed dreadfully. The killer ripped the knife from Steve's groin all the way towards his sternum bone. Steve's head lolled back and forth, life had left his eyes. The blood had splattered all over Steve's clothes and the porch.

The light returned. Once Mindy saw Steve's insides hanging from his body, she cowered back into the corner behind the television set.

"Hey, we're not finished yet," the killer said ominously, "final question, are you ready?"

"Please leave me alone."

"Answer the question and I will," the killer paused for an effect, "What door am I at?"

"What?"

"There are two main doors to your house, the front door and the patio doors. If you answer correctly, you live, very simple."

"Please don't do this, I can't I won't."

"Your call."

In the next moment she was startled as a lawn chair came exploding through the glass patio doors. Bits and pieces of wood and glass shattered everywhere. Mindy rushed into the kitchen, which was clouded by smoke and smelled of burnt popcorn kernels, and armed herself with a butcher knife. She peeked down the hall and saw a flash of black run into the living room. She quietly ducked out the nearest door and backed up against the fence, hoping he wouldn't see her.

Luck seemed to be on her side, for just a minute or so later, she saw the lights of her parents' car making its way up their long driveway. As the car got closer, she bent down and set the knife down and started crawling closer to the driveway. She stood up and looked into the living room. Just at that moment the killer turned around and punched their hand through the glass and grabbed Mindy by the arm. She screamed and hit Ghostface with the cordless phone she was still carrying. While the killer recuperated, Mindy bolted again.

Mindy rounded the corner just as her parents pulled into the driveway. The next thing she new she was tackled for the killer had leaped through the living room window. They both immediately got to their feet and began running. The killer, however, was too fast for her and caught up to her in an instant and pulled the knife out and plunged into her chest. Mindy collapsed to the ground, bleeding. She started to hyperventilate.

Ghostface straddled the girl and held the blade to her throat. Mindy knocked the knife away. Just as quickly the killer locked her neck in a chokehold and squeezed as hard as possible. Mindy gasped. She couldn't breathe. The killer's grip was strong and unrelenting. Mindy struggled to break free. It took nearly all of her strength just to remain conscious, so in one last attempt she fought back – she kicked the killer in the groin. The killer recoiled in pain, which gave Mindy one more opportunity to escape. In peripheral view Ghostface saw Mindy escaping, and her parents moving toward the front door.

Fortunately for the killer Mindy's vocal chords had been crushed, so try as she might Mindy couldn't scream. That put Ghostface at an advantage as her parents passed by, oblivious to their dying daughter.

The slasher turned Mindy around and roughly slammed her to the ground. Ghostface held the knife up high, but before the knife could be plunged into her chest, Mindy reached for the mask and pulled it from the killer's face. She was shocked, but you couldn't tell by her expression, she was too tired from gasping for air. It didn't matter that Mindy now knew her killer's identity, for the killer raised the knife up and stabbed her over and over again.

Ghostface ripped the mask out of her hand, put it back on, grabbed her by the hem of her blood stained pants and dragged her into the front yard. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were about to get the shock of their lives.

Inside the house, Mindy's parents were frantic. They both had just heard their daughter's dying gasps over the phone. Mr. Smith was urging his wife to go to their neighbor's house and call the police.

"Not my daughter! Not my daughter!" Mrs. Smith cried as her husband ushered her out the door. When she turned around outside, she let out an ear-splitting scream. There was her daughter's slain corpse, hanging from a tree in their front yard in a makeshift noose that the killer had made from the tree swing. Blood was all over her clothes. She looked like a bloodied scarecrow.

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**This chapter was really hard to write. I hated having to say the person/the killer a million times. I'm also going to refer to the killer as Ghostface. If you've seen the movie Scream, then you know this is pretty much the exact same, but I have other ideas for the rest the story that I would rather use on more important characters. Anyway, please review.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Again, thank you so much to those who have reviewed so far. They really mean a lot and I enjoy reading your comments and ideas. As of right now in this story, there are no set couples, except for Ryan and his girlfriend. And you'll probably wonder who Melanie is, I mean it to be that girl from the audition that Darbus said needed to see a counselor. Since she didn't get a name in the movie, I made one up.**

**The italics are Gabriella's thoughts.**

**Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own High School Musical.

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Chapter 2

Flashes from cameras and police cars were all that Gabriella Montez saw as she approached the East High campus on Wednesday morning. She came to a stop and scanned the front of the school. There were police officers talking to news reporters and police officers talking to concerned parents. She heard a hysterical sob and turned to the tree where the cheerleaders and jocks usually hung out at before school began. There were several cheerleaders there, crying hysterically into the shoulders of their boyfriends. She was starting to get nervous; she knew something had to be terribly wrong. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a finger tap on her shoulder, but was relieved when she turned around to see her best friend Taylor McKessie standing behind her.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked with concern.

"I'm fine," she said. She was fine, aside from the fact that Taylor had nearly given her a heart attack. Gabriella began walking toward the school, and Taylor followed. As they neared the stairs near the entrance, Gabriella stopped and turned to Taylor. "Why are the police here?"

Taylor paused for a moment. "You didn't hear?" she asked. Gabriella shook her head. "Mindy Smith and Steve Collins were murdered last night."

"Oh my God!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Do they know who did it?"

"They're clueless," Taylor answered, "I mean, they're interrogating the entire school. . ."

"Wait," Gabriella interrupted, "they think someone at the school did it?"

"They don't know," Taylor went on, but Gabriella didn't pay any attention. Her mind was swimming with horrifying thoughts. Who could it be? Could it be someone here at school? At that thought she scanned the courtyard once more.

_There's Ryan and Sharpay. There's no way it could be them. She may be the Ice Queen, but Sharpay is too much of a girly-girl and Ryan would die if he got blood on one of his fancy hats._

_Kelsi and Jason are out too. I talked to Kelsi on the phone last night, and Jason was there with her, so it can't be them._

_There's Alan, Cyndra, and Melanie. From the auditions. I don't really know them, but they're Ryan and Sharpay's friends, in fact Ryan is going out with Melanie, so it's highly unlikely that one of them is the killer._

She was pulled from her thoughts by someone who lightly touched her arm. She snapped out of it and noticed Principal Matsui standing in front of her.

"Gabriella," he said quietly, "the police would like to ask you a few questions, is that alright?"

She nodded and followed him over to the deputy. "This should only take a few minutes Miss Montez," the officer started, "so, how well did you know Mindy Smith?"

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

"So what kind of things did the police ask you all?" Chad asked as he and the others were sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch.

"They asked me how well I knew Mindy," Gabriella answered.

"Yeah, they asked me that too," Kelsi chimed in.

"They asked me if I did a lot of hunting," Zeke added.

Jason, Troy, Chad, and Ryan all nodded in agreement. Sharpay was confused. "Why would they ask you all if you like to hunt?" she asked, "They didn't ask me if I liked to hunt."

The guys all spit out their drinks and began laughing uncontrollably. When Jason regained his composure he responded. "That's because there's no way a girl could have done this."

"That's so sexist. The killer could easily be female. What about Aileen Wuornos?" Sharpay replied.

"She shot her victims with a hand gun. Mindy and Steve, they were totally hollowed out man. Their insides were on the outside. There's no way a chick could have done that." Jason said.

"Whatever," Sharpay said as she rolled her eyes.

"How do you gut someone?" Gabriella asked quietly.

Everyone looked over to her. "Well," Chad started, "first, you take the knife and slice them from groin to . . ."

"Shut up Chad," Troy interrupted, "you know that's not what she meant by that."

"Yeah, and people are trying to eat here," Taylor added.

Chad put his hands up in mock defense. "Alright, sorry, sorry."

"Anyway, if the killer is someone at school, who do you think it could be?" Zeke asked randomly. "My money's on Troy's dad."

"Hey," Troy responded with a mouth full of food.

"Well, think about it," Zeke started to explain, "he still hasn't gotten over the whole musical thing, and he's probably stressing over this year's basketball season. And to top it all off, your mom just filed for divorce. That could be enough to push any guy over the edge."

Troy didn't respond. "Hey, I'm just saying it's a possibility. I don't really think the killer is someone at the school. It's just a stupid game." Zeke said.

"Whatever."

For the rest of lunch everyone at the table was quiet. Gabriella was once again thinking about who the killer could be.

_What Zeke said was uncalled for, but what if he's right? It could be Troy's dad, you never know. It never really occurred to me that it could be an adult. I was only thinking of students before, but now that I think about it, it really could be anyone. What if it's Ms. Darbus? Nah. Or Principal Matsui? Again, nah. I don't know who it could have killed Mindy and Steve, but I have a feeling that this person won't stop killing. I'm going to have to be on the lookout for everything and anyone suspicious.

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**Yeah, I know not much happened in this chapter, but I don't want to kill somebody every chapter. But, I have decided who is going to be the next victim. And the killer was either in this chapter or mentioned by someone else. I only named about, oh, twenty different people, so good luck trying to guess. lol**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. Especially xxchocolatekissesxx, troypayrocks, and deathcab4lor for being the only 3 to review the last chapter. But I appreciate all reviews, don't forget that. :)**

**I think I mentioned that Ryan's girlfriend was named Melanie. She's not in this chapter, but she will play a bigger part later on. McGuireGirl suggested that I give Ryan a girlfriend, so I did. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical.

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Chapter 3

**Thursday**

The next day, Principal Matsui appeared on the television for a special edition of his _Matsui Morning Report. _With him was the sheriff of the police department.

"Hello students," he started somberly, "I'm sure you all have heard by now about the tragic deaths of two of your fellow students, Mindy Smith and Steve Collins."

He paused for a moment and then continued, "Now, the police do not want to cause a panic, but since the murders are still unsolved, there are some things that the police want you to beware of. Take it away, Sheriff."

"Thank you Mr. Matsui," the sheriff answered. "First of all, we would like for everyone to know that this was found at the crime scene," he held up the Ghostface mask. "So if you know someone who owns a mask like this, or if you see someone with this mask, please notify the police immediately."

"We also advise everyone to walk home with a buddy or a group of friends," he continued. "And try to make sure that you're never home alone. Now there will be a curfew of 11:00 p.m. effective today, and we strongly suggest that you be home with your parents at that time." The sheriff finished.

"Until those two murders are solved, there will be several police officers patrolling the school grounds," Matsui ended his report with this. "Please heed the sheriff's warning. We do not want to lose any more students."

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

When Kelsi had completed all of her homework for biology class, the teacher, Ms. Brown, would let her go to the auditorium to work on her compositions. That's where she was going now. Everyone knew she would be in the auditorium at this time; it was a habit of hers. Even if she wasn't composing anything for a musical, she would be composing something just for fun. I guess you could call it a stress reliever of sorts. When she was playing, she felt no fear; all of her troubles went away. And that's just what she needed right now, with the two murders and a killer still on the loose, everyone was on edge.

She entered the dark auditorium tentatively, but immediately reached over and switched the stage lights on - she had always been scared of the dark. She made her way down the steps and onto the stage. The piano was where it always was (stage right); no one had bothered to move it off the stage after the last musical. She spread the sheet music out so that she wouldn't be bothered to flip any pages. She positioned her hands over the key of 'c' and began to play, her fingers gliding over the keys with ease.

She didn't know how long she had been playing when she thought she heard a chord that wasn't in her composition. She really didn't think that she made a mistake, so she stopped playing, and sure enough, she could hear the sound of the other piano.

She felt her body go weak. No one ever came into the auditorium at this time; everyone had a class that they couldn't miss. Who could it be then? She wanted to know. Though deep down her mind was telling her to just turn around and run, she made her way to the opposite side of the stage and pulled back the curtain to the place where extra props and such are stored.

Her hands began to shake. For, sitting at the piano bench, was someone in a black hooded cape. When this person turned around, she noticed the ghost mask that they were wearing, the same mask that the person who killed Mindy and Steve had been wearing. Could this just be someone's sick idea of a practical joke?

The person got up from their seat and unsheathed their knife. Even if this was just a joke, Kelsi wasn't going to sit around and find out. She took off sprinting off the stage and up the stairs. She tried pushing on the door, but it was locked. How long had this person been in here with her? How could she not have heard them come in? There was no time to worry about that though, because Ghostface was coming up the stairs after her.

There was only one other way out of the auditorium, and that was into the basement. The door was back behind the stage though, so she had to run back down the stairs. She sprinted to the other set of stairs and to the basement door. She let out a loud sob when the knob wouldn't turn. There was no other way out, she was trapped.

Ghostface was closing the distance between them. Kelsi's heart was beating so fast. This wasn't how she wanted to die. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the stairs that led up to the mezzanine. It was her only way to get out of the corner, so she took the opportunity and ran up the stairs.

Once she was in the middle of the mezzanine, she fell to her knees, unable to stand because of her difficulty breathing. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see the person who had been stalking her standing behind her, but to her surprise no one was there.

She regained control of her breathing after a few minutes. She got to her feet slowly. She started to turn around to go back the way she came up, but then froze. The person could still be down there. She glanced over to the other side. It didn't matter which set of stairs she chose to descend, it was impossible to know where this person was.

She got back down on her knees and peered down over the edge, hoping that luck would be on her side and she may be able to see where they were lying in wait. No such luck.

She started to get up again, but before she could push herself up, she was roughly pulled up and brought face to face with her killer. They held onto her arms with one hand and pulled the knife out with the other. Kelsi screamed and kicked with all the strength she had. She did get one good kick in and the killer lost their hold on her, but unfortunately, this also caused Kelsi to lose her balance and stumble backward.

As she was plummeting to her death, the killer ripped of their mask, revealing their identity to Kelsi before her body crashed onto the concrete stairs of the auditorium. Blood pooled around her head – she died on impact. The last image she saw was the face of her killer.

The killer threw their mask down and it landed right next to Kelsi's body. They pulled the hood over their head and walked away, soon fading into the darkness.

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**So what did you think? Are you mad that I killed Kelsi, or are you just glad that it wasn't someone like Troy or Gabriella? Please review, I'm so close to getting 20 reviews. I'll try to send everyone who reviews a cookie or something, lol. I would if I could, seriously. But I really would like to know if this chapter turned out ok. I tried really hard but I'm on painkillers so it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but it really only matters what you think anyway. Ok, I'll stop rambling now. :)**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Thursday**

After the last bell of the day rang, Gabriella went to her locker and then headed over to Troy. Gabriella and Kelsi were supposed to meet Troy at his locker so they could practice a new song that Kelsi had written for them to perform at the auditions for the spring musical. As she approached his locker, she saw Troy, but Kelsi was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Troy," she said when she came near him, "where's Kelsi?"

"I don't know. Her locker's right over there," he said as he pointed in that direction, "I haven't seen her come to her locker."

"Maybe she already came to her locker and is waiting for us in the auditorium," Gabriella suggested.

"Yeah, maybe. Let's go see," Troy responded.

They turned the corner to the auditorium, but were stopped by the deputy.

"I'm sorry, you can't go through there," he ordered.

"But we're supposed to meet our friend in the auditorium," Gabriella explained.

"This hallway is closed right now. I can assure you no one is back there,"

"Why is it closed?" Troy asked.

"I'm sorry, it's confidential police business. Please just go home and lock your doors. Remember, the curfew is 11:00. Be safe," the deputy advised.

"Yes sir," Gabriella and Troy said in unison.

After that, Troy drove Gabriella home. They tried to call Kelsi at her house, but there was no answer. After several tries, they eventually gave up and then just sat in Gabriella's living room and talked. Troy left Gabriella's at around 6:00 because promised his parents that he wouldn't be home late. A few seconds after he left, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Gabriella asked.

"Hey, Gabi. I'm sorry but I'm not going to be home for another few hours," her mother said, "I have to get this report in before I leave today."

"That's okay, Mom," Gabriella said.

"Alright, you can just heat up some leftovers for dinner. And make sure the door's locked."

"I will. Bye,"

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At the Evan's Mansion

"You sure you're going to be okay by yourself for a while, Shar?" Ryan asked as he put on his jacket, "I don't have to go to Melanie's if you don't want me to."

"Yes, Ryan, for the umpteenth time, I'll be fine," Sharpay answered. "Mom and Dad should be home soon and you're not going to be gone all that long. I'm going to lock the door behind you and then watch some TV to keep myself preoccupied so that I don't get scared."

"All right, fine," Ryan said as he leaned in to give Sharpay a kiss on the cheek. "I won't be gone for more than an hour, I promise. You make sure you lock the door behind me, and call me if you get scared and I'll come right home."

Sharpay rolled her eyes at her brother's over-protectiveness. "Will do," she responded.

* * *

After she got off the phone with her mom, Gabriella turned the TV and the news was on. She was about to change the channel when the headline 'Student found dead at East High' made her freeze in place. She turned the volume up and brought her knees into her chest as she listened intently to the report.

"While the police were patrolling the campus of East High they stumbled upon the body of a student whose name is not being released at this time since the family has yet to be reached," the reporter began, 'The student was found in the school's auditorium, the cause of death apparently from falling off of the mezzanine. When asked of the nature of the student's death, the sergeant had this to say."

"As of right now the police are still investigating the nature of death. This mask was found at the scene," he said as he held up the Ghostface mask, "but as the police have now learned, the school's theater department has several of these masks to use as a costume for their next production. So any student that has access to the auditorium had access to this costume. But right now, the police department has no definitive proof that this is the work of a serial killer. However, several hairs were found on the mask, and they will be tested to see if the hairs are that of the victim or of an unknown subject."

After the sergeant had finished, the reporter added, "Despite the investigation taking place at that school, the school board has decided to not cancel classes tomorrow. The principal, Joey Matsui, explained the school board's decision."

"The school board believes that despite of the tragedy that has taking place, the students will be safer at school than at home," Mr. Matsui explained. "Many students' parents have to work and would then have to leave their kids at home. The board has also stated that if the investigation is not concluded by next Tuesday, classes will be suspended until further notice. I can assure every parent that your child will be safe at school tomorrow."

With that, the reported ended the segment with this, "We'll have more information regarding this tragedy as it becomes available."

Gabriella stared at the television with her mouth open. Seconds later, she was brought out of her reverie by the sound of the telephone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Gabriella, did you see the news?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah, I just can't believe it."

"I know; me either. I can't believe they didn't cancel school tomorrow!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Yeah, but you have to admit that Matsui had a good point. Tomorrow's the last day of the week, and if we can just make it through tomorrow, that gives the police a three-day weekend to try and solve this case and we won't have to miss any school," Gabriella reasoned.

"Yeah, but they found that same mask at the scene, Gabi!" Taylor cried out, "I don't think that the student's death was an accident. I think the killer was there, in East High. I'm really scared to go to school tomorrow."

"Taylor, you're over reacting," Gabriella said coolly. "Besides, since most of our parents work all day, school is probably the safest place for us to be. I mean, there's going to be a few police officers there to investigate so what are the chances that anything's going to happen?"

"They were there today and something happened!"

"Yeah, but tomorrow they will be on their guard. And like the sergeant said, they don't have any proof to indicate that it wasn't just an accident."

"But. . ." Taylor started.

"I'm sorry, Taylor. I've got to go. I have homework to do and I really don't want to talk about all this right now."

"Alright, bye, Gabi,"

"Bye."

After getting off the phone with Taylor, Gabriella got a drink out of the refrigerator and went upstairs to her room. She set the drink down on a coaster and pulled her homework out of her backpack. She spread all the papers out on her bed and began working.

She didn't know how much time she had spent on her homework until the sound of telephone ringing brought her out of her daze. Startled, she looked at the clock and noticed it was nearly 8:00 o'clock, it was beginning to get dark outside. Her phone didn't have caller identification, but she figured that it was Taylor because she was the only one who would call at this time, usually to go over some difficult homework problems.

"Hey Taylor, did you want to go over the math assignment or something?" Gabriella asked presumably.

"This isn't Taylor," a disguised voice said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, who is this?" she asked.

"Who do you think?"

"I have no idea,"

"Scary night tonight, with the murders and all, it's like right out of a horror movie or something," the voice commented.

Gabriella smiled to herself. "Oh, Ryan, you just gave yourself away. So what are you and Sharpay up to?"

"Do you like scary movies, Gabriella?"

"You know I'm too scared to watch those kind of movies,"

"Are you . . . alone in the house?"

"Trying to scare me?" she asked, "That's so unoriginal; you guys try to scare me all the time. I'm very disappointed in you Ryan."

"Maybe that's because I'm not Ryan."

"Well, who are you?"

"The question isn't who am I, but _where_ am I?" the voice said forebodingly.

"So where are you?" she asked curiously.

"Your backyard."

Gabriella gulped nervously before asking, "Why would you be calling from my backyard?"

"That's the original part."

"Oh really," Gabriella said. She slowly opened the door that lead to her balcony and stepped outside. She scanned the backyard, not seeing anyone or anything besides trees.

"So where are you?"

"Right here," the voice said. Gabriella braced herself for someone to pop out of nowhere and scare her, but several minutes passed and this mystery caller never showed their face.

As time went by, Gabriella became more convinced that this was just a prank caller. She was angry that someone could do something like this in lieu of the tragedy that had occurred at East High early that day.

She finally got the courage to tell this person off, "Ok listen buddy," she said grumpily, "you've had your fun, and I'm not going to let you try and scare me anymore. Got it? Bye now!"

"If you hang up on me you'll die just like your friend Kelsi! Do you want to die, Gabriella?" the person threatened.

"Screw you, you nutcase!" Gabriella screamed as she hung up the phone. While she was still standing near the rail a hand reached up and grabbed her by the wrist. Gabriella turned and saw the Ghostface figure, and the knife that they had unsheathed. She used the phone that she still held in her hand and repeatedly hit them over and over until Ghostface lost his grip and fell to the ground. Gabriella stared down at the killer momentarily before coming to her senses and sprinting back into her house and down the stairs to the front door.

She opened the door and started out, but she saw Ghostface coming up the stairs of her porch. She turned on her heels and tried to close the door, but the killer had made their way to the door and was now pushing their way in. Ghostface suddenly pushed against the door with all of their strength, which caused the door to slam back into Gabriella's face. She fell to the ground and before she could react, Ghostface had entered the house, closed and locked the door, and had her pinned.

Her eyes were blurry, but Gabriella could see the killer raise the knife up above their head. On instinct, she wriggled her leg free and kicked them in the groin. Ghostface fell to the side which gave Gabriella enough to time to get to her feet and run up to her room. She put a door blocker up against the door knob and picked up the phone to call 911. All she heard was a busy signal, so she slammed the phone down.

Ghostface was now slamming into her door, but because of the door blocker, the door would only open a few inches. They reached their hand in and started slashing the knife around, even though Gabriella was out of range. The killer gave that up and went back to slamming their body against the door in hopes up of knocking the door off its hinges.

Gabriella was sitting on her bed with her hands covering her eyes, when suddenly all the noise stopped. She snapped her head up and nervously glanced from the door to her patio.

She saw a hand reach up on the rail and start to pull itself up. She screamed, but calmed when she saw it was just Troy. She unlocked the door and ran out to him. "I heard screaming, are you alright? What's going on?" he asked.

"The killer was here! He was in the house, and he tried . . . he tried to,"

"It's okay. Nobody's going to hurt you. I must have scared him off or something," he held her close as she continued to cry, "Calm down, you're safe now. I'm here."

She nodded. She had just started to relax when she saw his cell phone fall to the ground. She stared down at it, and as she stared she realized the possibility that the person who had just been in her house, had just tried to killed her, was Troy. Her fingers started to tremble. She didn't want to think it was possible, she could think of no reason that Troy would want to kill her, but despite what her heart was telling her, her brain was telling her to get away from him. She pulled away from him aggressively and backed away quickly, never taking her eyes off the floor.

"What?" Troy asked stupidly.

She turned around and ran out of her room to the stairs.

"Wait, Gabriella! Gabriella, come back! What did I do?"


	6. Chapter 5

**I am so sorry for taking so long to update, but as I've said before, I promise to finish this story. Thank you so much for the reviews. This story is by far my most popular, and I'm glad you like it. You rock. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical

* * *

**

Chapter 5

**Thursday Night**

Gabriella sprinted down the stairs in record speed. Troy was still calling out to her, asking her what was wrong, but she couldn't face him. She had to get away. She pulled the door open and fainted when she saw the Ghostface mask being held up in her face.

The light from a beaming flashlight was in Gabriella's eyes as she woke up disoriented. She didn't know what had happened or where she was. She looked around; she was lying on her porch, with several police officers, as well as Troy, hovering over her. The events of the night came rushing back, and she tried to jump up and run away, but the deputy gently took hold of her and led her over to the porch swing and had her sit down.

"Your neighbors called and reported a disturbance, what happened here?" the deputy asked.

While another officer kept Troy at bay, Gabriella quickly explained to the deputy everything that had happened; the phone call, the murderer in the house, and then Troy. After Gabriella finished her story, the deputy immediately ordered another officer to place Troy under arrest.

As Troy was being dragged away in handcuffs, he started screaming, pleading, with Gabriella. "Gabriella, it wasn't me you know it wasn't! Come on, Gabriella, you know me! It wasn't me I swear! Please, you have to believe me!"

* * *

At the police station

Troy was situated in a small interrogation room, seated next to his father. The deputy was pacing around angrily, trying to intimidate him, while the sheriff sat opposite Troy. Their intimidation tactics were not working; all they did was piss Troy off. He knew he didn't belong here, and the police were just wasting their time.

"What are you doing with a cellular telephone, boy?" the sheriff asked.

"It's the 21st century, sheriff. Everyone and their dog has a cell phone these days," Troy sarcastically responded.

"Now's not the time to be a smart ass, Troy," his father said through gritted teeth.

"Can you explain why you climbed up on Miss Montez's balcony?" the deputy asked.

"I heard a lot of noise from upstairs and the door was locked. It was the only way to get in," Troy explained.

"Why were you out past dark anyway?" the sheriff asked, "there's a killer on the loose, you know."

"I saw the news about what happened at school and I just wanted to go and check on Gabriella. I wasn't thinking about the killer, I didn't think anything about the killer on the loose. Her house is only around the block and I figured I could make it there okay."

"Why didn't you just call her?" the deputy asked

"I tried," Troy said, "but the line was busy."

The deputy scoffed at him. "Well, isn't that convenient. Did you happen to call Mindy Smith and get a busy signal on Tuesday night as well?"

"No!" Troy shouted, "I didn't make those calls! I am not a killer!"

"No one is saying you are, Troy," the sheriff calmly stated, while stealing a warning glance at the deputy, "we're just looking for some answers."

"Why don't you just check the phone records," Mr. Bolton demanded, "the phone company keeps track of every call ever made."

"Thanks, Jack, we're on top of it," the deputy irritably responded.

"I'm sorry Troy," the sheriff started, "but until we get those phone records, we're going to have to hold you in custody."

Troy looked over at his father, who merely shook his head.

"This is crazy," Troy whispered, "You're all crazy."

* * *

At the Evans' Mansion

Ryan had left around at 6:30 p.m., and it was now approaching 10:00 p.m. He had walked around the block to visit his girlfriend Melanie, who was going to be home alone until late. He was reluctant to leave Sharpay alone, but Sharpay had convinced him she would be fine. Sharpay was a tough girl, he reasoned, she can take care of herself. And besides, The Evans' had a very intricate security system. The only way someone was getting in their home (without setting off the alarm) was with a key.

Ryan felt that Melanie needed him more, because she was absolutely terrified at the thought of being home alone at night; so much so, that she called him up in tears.

Sharpay has been home alone for over two hours, and despite her best attempts to remain calm, she was beginning to freak out a little. There was nothing on T.V. that she wanted to watch, but she wasn't going to leave the living room until Ryan came home.

_He should be getting home any minute, _Sharpay thought.

She reached over to the coffee table and picked up a fashion magazine. She started to flip through the pages when the phone rang. Expecting it to be Ryan, she picked up the phone and answered without looking at caller identification.

"Hello?" Sharpay answered.

"Hello, Sharpay," a raspy voice responded.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"Who do you think this is?"

Sharpay figured this was just a prank caller. And, boy was she mad. Some people thought it was funny to piss of the 'Ice Queen,' and she was sick and tired of it. "I don't have time to play guessing games," Sharpay said harshly, "So, who is this?"

"Chill out, I just want to talk to you." the person said innocently.

"I'm sorry, but I'm expecting another call, and it's really important. Okay then? Bye bye," she said sarcastically.

"No it's not okay. If you hang up on me you won't live to see tomorrow, do you understand me, you stupid little bitch?"

Sharpay was not going to be intimidated by some prick playing a prank on her, especially with all that has happened the past couple of days. "No you listen buddy; my brother will be home any minute. So if you even think of trying anything you will be very sorry!"

"Oh, you mean the guy who wears just as much pink as you do. Please, sweetie. I'm more scared of you then I am of him," the caller said mockingly.

"Hey, no one talks about my brother like that!" Sharpay yelled. "You know what, I'm a little bored of this conversation. It's not like your actually going to do anything if I hang up on you, so bye."

She sat back down on the couch, fully confident that the call was just a prank. As she lifted up the remote to change the channel she saw a flash of black out of the corner of her eye. In the next moment, Ghostface charged out of the kitchen. Panicked, Sharpay threw the remote at her adversary, and by pure dumb luck, the remote hit Ghostface in the wrist, causing them to drop the knife on the floor. This allowed Sharpay the few seconds she needed to run past the killer and up the stairs towards her room.

She locked the door to her room and hid in the corner of the room. She picked up the phone, but there was no dial tone. She began screaming, and continued screaming, even though a few minutes went by without Ghostface making another appearance. And then she saw the door knob turning. She screamed even louder.

"Help me please! Somebody please help!" she screamed

And then she could make out the sounds of another voice-a familiar voice-that was mixing in with her own screams.

"Sharpay!" she heard, "Sharpay, open up it's me!"

At the recognition of her brother's voice, she ran for the door and opened it up to reveal Ryan, with a confused and terrified look on his face.

"What's going on? What happened? Why were you screaming?" he quickly asked.

Sharpay pulled him in the room, shut and locked the door again.

"He was here! The killer! And he was wearing that mask that they showed us at school, and he had a knife, and he charged at me! He called me first, but I thought it was just a prank. I can't believe I was so stupid. I . . . ."

Ryan grabbed her hands gently and said, "Calm down, Shar. He's gone, I'm here now. You're going to be safe."

She nodded softly. And then, she saw something that unnerved her.

Sharpay's eyes flickered toward her brother's arm

"Ryan, what happened to your wrist?" she asked softly.

Ryan glanced down to the now visibly forming bruise on his right wrist. He drew a breath before answering with, "When I got to our driveway I could hear you screaming inside the house, so I ran as fast as I could. When I got to the door I tried to fish the keys out of my pocket as quickly as I could, but I kept fumbling with them. When I finally got a hold of them, I pulled them out of my pocket so fast that I hit the door knob."

"Oh," she answered quietly.

"What?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing,"

"Come on, Shar," he implored.

She just shook her head. Her head was starting to spin. She was trying desperately to think of which wrist that the remote had hit, but as much as she tried to envision it being the left, she knew it was the right. She wanted to believe her brother's story, she really did. But who could hit their wrist on the door knob, seriously? It wasn't impossible, but still.

Ryan walked over to the door that led to his room (he and Sharpay have adjoining rooms). "If you want, you can always come in my room and stay with me," he said.

She shook her head again.

"Ok then. Good night, Sharpay."

"Good night, Ryan."

After Ryan had left her room, Sharpay did something she never thought she would do; she locked the door that adjoined her room to Ryan's, to lock her brother out.

* * *

**Sharpay's actions during the phone call may have seemed weird, but I believe that if she thought it was just a prank, then that's how she would have acted.**

**Questions? Comments? Criticism? Let me know what you thought.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: I know the last two chapters were very similar, but there is a reason for that, which you will find out later on in the story. Thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical**

* * *

Chapter 6

**Friday**

Troy had a miserable night. First, he was accused of harassing Gabriella. And then, he had to spend an agonizing six hours in jail before the police were able to clear him and send him home.

He was able to get a little bit of sleep at the station, but he was awakened by a firm hand shaking his shoulders. He looked up to see his father standing over him, telling him they could now head home. Troy glanced at the clock before leaving; it was 2:30 a.m.

It was now 7:30 a.m. Troy was finishing his breakfast at the kitchen table. He had managed to get a few extra hours of sleep at home, but he was not in the mood to go to school. He was tired and dejected, and he didn't think he could face his friends, especially Gabriella.

But his dad had ordered him to go to school this morning. After they got home, before Troy went back to sleep, his father told him that he would be leaving for school a little after six in order to unlock the gym in case any basketball players wanted to get a bit of practice in before school started.

Jack usually wanted his son to attend these (non-mandatory) morning practices, but he told Troy that this morning he could sleep in, as long as he arrived at school in time for homeroom. Troy agreed.

So now, Troy finished his breakfast, took a few more sips of coffee to perk him up a bit, grabbed his backpack, fished out his car keys, and headed for the car. He slowly backed out of his driveway, and continued to drive slowly all the way to school.

He was not looking forward to school. He had a feeling it would be a bad day.

* * *

Zeke noticed a change in Sharpay this Friday morning. As she walked into school, by herself, no Ryan in sight, she did not seem like the fearless 'Ice Queen' as she had come to be known as. She looked scared and out of place. She glanced around nervously, as if she didn't trust the people around her.

She stopped at her locker, which was not too far from where Zeke stood. He approached her slowly, hesitantly, for he was afraid to startle her. He didn't know what he should say, so he gently touched her shoulder.

She jumped at his touch and let out a yelp. She had a hand over her heart, attempting to calm herself. "What was that, Zeke?" she asked, "You nearly scared me to death."

"I'm sorry; I just wanted to see how you were doing. I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized.

"Startle is an understatement," she said angrily, "And why would you want to see how I'm doing? Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, I wasn't saying that," Zeke explained, "You just, seemed a little. . ." he trailed off. He saw Sharpay staring at him, arms crossed, expecting an answer. "You just didn't seem like yourself. I wanted to know if something was wrong or maybe if you were upset about what happened last night," he finished.

Sharpay's heart began beating faster again. What was he talking about? How could he have any idea what had happened to her last night? She sure wasn't going to tell anyone, Ryan wouldn't have said anything to him either; Ryan wasn't even at school yet. There was only one way. . .

"Zeke, how do you know what happened last night?" she asked worriedly.

He said quickly, "Everyone knows, it's all over school."

"Who told you?" she asked confused.

"Chad did, but he heard it from Gabriella's neighbor. He's the one who called the police," Zeke answered.

He noticed Sharpay do a double-take. "Wait, what are you talking about?" she asked.

"Gabriella was attacked last night," Zeke said slowly, "What did you think I was talking about?"

Sharpay didn't answer. Thoughts were flying through her mind at a mile a minute. For a while there, she thought Zeke was talking about her being attacked, and that he might know something about it, like who did it. But now she comes to find out that Gabriella was attacked last night as well, what a coincidence.

"Do they know who did it?" she asked Zeke.

Zeke whispered softly in her ear, "Troy was arrested, but they released him earlier this morning. His phone records showed that he didn't call her to harass her, like she said someone did," he explained.

_Just like I was, _Sharpay thought. She then asked, "Why are we whispering, if the whole school knows?"

"Not everyone knows about Troy's arrest, and we want to keep it that way," Zeke answered, "he should be at school any minute, we don't want him to be hassled."

"What time did it happen last night?" Sharpay asked, "I mean, when she was attacked?"

"It was around 8:30 to 9:00, why?" he asked.

Again, Sharpay didn't answer. She found herself considering a situation that she didn't really want to believe was possible, but the time frame made it seem plausible. If she was to believe that her own brother, Ryan, was the one who attacked her, could he have attacked those other people? She was attacked around ten; Gabriella close to nine, which gave the perpetrator and hour to escape from Gabriella's and make it to her house. If Troy was in jail at the time, then that eliminates him as her attacker. But Ryan, on the other hand, did not have such an alibi. _Could it be?_

She shook her head to clear those thoughts from her mind. She walked away without answering Zeke's question. She didn't hear him calling after her, or hear his footsteps behind her.

If she couldn't feel safe in her home, with her own brother, should she feel safe here at school? Should she leave and go where no one can find her? She decided that she was being over-dramatic. School was probably the safest place; there were too many officers, and too many possible witnesses, for anything to happen.

She stopped and saw a police officer that was standing at the end of the hall, and felt a lot calmer at the sight. She started to walk to her homeroom, just as Principal Matsui rushed past her.

* * *

Principal Matsui was speed walking down the halls of East High, weaving in between students to get to his office. He had left home a little late and as a result became stuck in traffic.

When he entered his office, he set his briefcase on the floor under his desk. When his eyes fell upon his desk, he saw a neatly folded piece of computer paper on top of one of his folders. He reached over and picked it up. The note was written in poor handwriting, like chicken scratch, but he was (barely) able to make out what it said.

_Matsui_

_Have you checked the gym lately? You should. There's a little surprise waiting for you._

The principal had an uneasy feeling about that note, so he showed the note to an officer and they both walked down to the gym.

The sight they saw as they entered the gym was nauseating. They entered the gym and saw blood dripping from the basketball net. They walked reluctantly to the other side to see what it was.

There, stuffed into the net, was the basketball coach and gym teacher, Jack Bolton. His throat had been slit, thus the origin of the dripping blood.

While the officer was radioing his fellow officers, ordering one of them to come down to the gym and ordering the rest to guard the students, Principal Matsui swiftly ran into the coach's office and picked up the phone. He pressed the intercom button and said urgently, "Will all students please report to their homeroom this instant. And teachers, meet me outside the gymnasium immediately."


End file.
